India produced a dominant all-round display to crush South Africa by 101 runs in the opening T20I at Cuttack. Batting first on a tricky surface, India posted 175/6, thanks to a blistering unbeaten 59 off 28 balls from Hardik Pandya, who rescued the innings after early setbacks.
South Africa’s chase never got going as Arshdeep Singh delivered with the new ball, removing Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs to set the tone. From there, India’s spinners tightened the grip, with Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy striking at regular intervals to expose the visitors’ batting frailty.
Dewald Brevis offered brief resistance with 22, but the rest of the South African lineup collapsed under relentless pressure. Jasprit Bumrah added to the damage, crossing the 100-wicket mark in T20Is as South Africa folded for just 74—their lowest T20I total.
With this emphatic 1-0 lead, India sent a strong message ahead of the home T20 World Cup, showcasing depth in both batting and bowling and the match-winning form of Hardik and Arshdeep.
